Odds and Ends
by Corri
Summary: A collection of Pirates drabbles I've written. Here you'll find moments that might have been, missing scenes, and other Caribbean goodies.
1. Not Her

Disclaimer: Pirates? Not mine.

A/N: Just a quick note on how I'm structuring this collection: each chapter is its own self-contained drabble. I don't intend for these to go together to form an overarching story. The chapter title will be the story title, and if I wrote it for a challenge, I'll put the challenge word first. And now, on to the first drabble I ever wrote...

Not Her

"I'm not her," she said the first time the Commodore dared to take her hand in his.

And she wasn't. She didn't have Elizabeth's fire, but her eyes were quick and intelligent. He could be happy enough with her.

"I know," he said. The shadow of Miss Swan lingered behind his words. She gently removed her pale fingers from his grasp.

"When you know it in truth, call on me again."

The heels of his boots resounded against the marble floor in the entryway as he left. She hoped he would return but suspected he would not.


	2. Revenge: Untitled

Disclaimer: Pirates? Not mine.

A/N: This untitled little guy was written for the "Revenge" challenge on Black Pearl Sails

Bill Turner folded a tattered piece of cloth over the coin in his palm. He could still see Jack standing on the island, shaking his fist at the _Pearl _as the distance stretched between them. Good friend, Jack. Hadn't deserved what they'd done to him. Resisting the cursed gold's call, he dropped the cloth-wrapped piece into a wooden box meant for his son. He meant to do right by Jack, even if the crazy pirate wasn't around to hear tell of it. Never mind that he'd be caught in it too. It wasn't vengeance, he told himself. It was justice.


	3. Insults: An Unexpected Gift

Disclaimer: Pirates? Not mine.

A/N: Written for the "insults" challenge on Black Pearl Sails. If you want to see a lovely picture of the item in question, it's at http/www.nmm.ac.uk/collections/explore/object.cfm?IDAST0350.

An Unexpected Gift

It was widely agreed that the Blue Mermaid Tavern boasted the best ale and the friendliest girls in Tortuga. Coincidentally, it was also where Captain Jack Sparrow received his correspondence. Those who needed to know, as well as a few who didn't, were well aware that letters and parcels intended for him could be sent on to the Blue Mermaid, and that they would eventually find their way into Captain Sparrow's hands.

Jack studied the small parcel that the Mermaid's proprietor had just placed on the table in front of him. It was wrapped in brown paper and secured with a bit of twine, and it would have fit easily into Jack's palm.

"You expecting something?" Gibbs asked.

"Not that I remember, no," Jack said. He tilted his head slightly to one side as if to get a better look at his parcel. "No sense in waiting, I suppose," he said after a few moments. He cut the twine and stripped away the paper to reveal what appeared to be a small, cylindrical ivory box. Gingerly, he lifted the lid, and immediately realized that it wasn't a box at all. It was a compass—a brand new one, from the look of it. Its brass parts were still perfectly polished.

"Now who would have sent me a thing like that?" Jack turned the gift over in his hands. It _was_ a beautiful instrument, mysterious though its origins might be.

"Why don't you read the note and find out?" Anamaria handed him a folded slip of white paper that had been brushed to the side with the wrapping.

Jack unfolded the paper. The hand was unknown to him. It was neither Elizabeth's feminine, flowing script nor Will's workmanlike writing. A bit confused, he read aloud the two short lines that were written there: "For Captain Jack Sparrow. A compass that actually points north." The word 'actually' was underlined with a single brisk stroke.

Jack's face took on a slightly offended cast. "As if I didn't have one already," he grumbled as he pocketed his new acquisition.

Many miles away, Commodore Norrington looked up from the work spread across his desk and smiled for absolutely no reason in particular.


	4. Treasure: Passed Over

Disclaimer: Pirates? Not mine. 

A/N: Written for the "treasure" challenge at BPS.

Passed Over

The elite of Port Royal were not quite sure what to make of Elizabeth Swann's wedding. Apart from the obvious disparity between the bride and groom's social situations, and the fact that the man most everyone had expected to marry Miss Swann had instead sat through the ceremony in the front pew of the church with a half-sad smile on his face, there were a number of other strange happenings. For instance, a ruby the size of a cat's eye strung on a silver chain arrived by way of a none-too-respectable looking sailor at the beginning of the reception in the Governor's garden. The seaman insisted on putting the gem in Elizabeth's hands himself, calling it 'a wedding gift from a mutual friend.' Instead of being horrified, as most of the guests were, Elizabeth smiled and had her new husband fasten the chain around her neck.

All of this culminated in an uncomfortable silence around the new couple. The ladies were unsure of whether congratulations were in order to a bride who had married so far beneath her, and the gentlemen were glad to follow the lead of their wives and daughters, not being sure at all of what to say to the young man who had shod their horses, repaired their iron gratings, and was now wed to the Governor's daughter.

Elizabeth kept her chin high and her eyes forward, but even she eventually began to be affected by the stony silence, and she knew Will wasn't doing any better. She could sense his discomfort keenly, and his grip on her hand tightened by the second.

_Just a while longer, my love, and this will be over. After all, we've survived worse,_ she thought, and was about to say as much to him when James Norrington, resplendent in his naval uniform, approached Elizabeth and said to her in a clear, strong voice, "Allow me to be one of the first to congratulate you on your marriage. I wish you both all the happiness in the world."

Things were easier after that. Having seen one of Port Royal's finest sons speak to the Turners so freely, the wedding guests warmed to them considerably. Elizabeth cast a grateful glance in James' direction and he acknowledged her with a slight nod and a gentle smile before returning to his conversation with one of her many visiting relatives. Surprise briefly shadowed Elizabeth's face as, for a moment, she caught a glimpse of the treasure she had passed over.


	5. Down Time: A Game of Chess

Disclaimer: Pirates? Not mine.

A/N: Written for the 'Down time' challenge at BPS

A Game of Chess

_The Commodore is most certainly off his game,_ Will Turner thought as he considered the chess board laid out between them. Norrington's white pieces were in retreat, and Will's black ones were advancing steadily around them. Despite Elizabeth's efforts to the contrary, Will knew he was but a middling player. With intense concentration, he could best Elizabeth one time in ten, but Jack's mad, devious game trounced him every time, and he had yet to find a way to defend himself from Norrington's inexorable strategic maneuvering.

Will momentarily wondered if Norrington was letting him win and was insulted at the thought. But no. The Commodore's face had the hard, competitive cast of a man playing to win, and his eyes flashed with annoyance every time Will took one of his pieces.

It was the decisive moment now. James had seen the danger, but could do nothing to avoid it. Elizabeth, who had been watching the game with great interest, had seen it as well. She sat on the edge of her chair and leaned forward in order to have a better view.

"I have your queen, Commodore," Will said, a look of quiet triumph on his face.

"Indeed you do, Mr. Turner," Norrington replied.


	6. First Day: Things Half Hoped For

Disclaimer: Pirates? Not mine.

A/N: Written for the 'First Day' challenge at BPS

Things Half-Hoped For

Elizabeth Swann moved through the halls of the governor's residence, a small, pale ghost in the darkened rooms where sun had not reached for months. The rooms were cavernous and empty, as many of her father's things had not yet arrived from England. She skirted corners and stayed close to the walls. She lifted the edges of the sheets covering the furniture, pulled dusty books from the library shelves, and gingerly pressed the keys of the harpsichord in the ballroom.

Her father showed Elizabeth the room that would be hers. The window opened on the crescent of the bay, and she sat at the window long into the night as the rest of the house slept, searching for a half-hoped for ship with a black flag and a white skull, coming to tempt her away to piracy.


	7. Tremor: A Change in Command

Disclaimer: Pirates? Not mine.

A/N: Written for the 'tremor' challenge at BPS.

A Change in Command

The _Pearl_ knew that something was not right. She felt it deep in her timbers. For days now, her crew had been anxious and bad-tempered, and at last, it had come to this. Her fair young captain, whom she loved, stood on end of a plank that jutted out over the water. His wrists were bound, and he had the broken look of a man betrayed. Not willing to let himself be pushed, he dove bravely off the side and swam toward the empty white beach. The moment he hit the water, a tremor coursed through the _Pearl_'skeel and ribs. Her darling boy was gone, and the dark presence of her new captain settled uneasily upon her.


End file.
